Electro-optical phase shift in polymer dispersed liquid crystals

An anisotropic version of the Maxwell Garnett approximation is applied for studying the electro-optical phase modulation by polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC). The PDLC contain bipolar liquid crystal droplets that can be reoriented by an external field causing a change in the optical birefringence. This approach provides an explicit link between the droplet orientation distribution and the electro-optical phase shift. For aligned droplets we find that the sharpness of the change in the birefringence may be controlled by selecting the initial orientation. For a planar distribution we find sharp transitions with a hysteresis loop whose width depends on the droplet concentration. For a random distribution, the droplet orientation and the optical phase shift change more gradually with the applied field. These results demonstrate that PDLC may be suitable for a wide range of electro-optic applications based on their field-induced phase modulation properties. In addition, it is apparent that the optical phase shift is quite sensitive to changes in droplet orientation. It should therefore be useful for studying reorientation phenomena in PDLC, overcoming the problems due to light scattering in these materials. Received 25 November 1999 and Received in final form 20 January 2000     

Linewidth Narrowing in Microstrip Resonator Using Medium

An effective highly dispersive medium is proposed by utilizing strong dispersion of localized defect mode in a microstrip photonic crystal. Linewidth narrowing in a composite microstrip resonator using this photonic- crystal-based effective medium is investigated and its dependence on the structure parameters is presented. Both numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate that compared to the traditional resonator, the Qfactor increases much more quickly and the peak transmission decreases more slowly at the same time for the composite resonator.     

Wavelength tunable subpicosecond pulse generation with a fiber grating Raman laser

Operation of a wavelength tunable fiber grating Raman laser working in the 1.1 m regime is demonstrated. The pumping mechanism utilizes the process of stimulated perpendicular Raman scattering, possible in fibers for which birefringence can compensate dispersion. A total tuning range of 40 nm with a minimum output pulse duration of 0.8 ps is achieved by using two optical fibers and controlling their birefringence thermally.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Herbert Welling on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Dispersion of second-order nonlinear optical coefficient

A simple, approximate relation between the dispersion of the second-order nonlinear optical (SNLO) coefficient and first-order susceptibility has been derived using the well-known results of density-matrix calculation of quantum-mechanical theory. A new tensor of SNLO coefficient has been defined, which retains symmetries when the input beams are in the spectral range of transparency while the generated beam can also be in the spectral range of absorption. The validity of the relation has been checked for three ferroelectric crystals, KTP, LiNbO₃ and KNbO₃, which are transparent in the visible and near infrared, and for two semiconductors, GaP and GaAs, which absorb in the visible. Contrary to Miller’s law, the presented relation is in good agreement with measurements. Received: 8 February 2001 / Revised version: 2 July 2001 / Published online: 10 October 2001     

Fibre Optical Parametric Amplification in Defect Bragg Fibres with Zero Dispersion Slow Light Effect

Nonlinearity enhancement by slow light effect and strong light confinement in defect Bragg fibres is demonstrated and anMysed in applications of fibre optical parametric amplifiers. Broadband low group velocity and zero dispersion as well as the strong light confinement by band gap enhances the nonlinear coefficient up to more than one order than the conventional high nonlinear fibres. Moreover, the zero dispersion wavelength of coupled core mode can be designed arbitrarily, under which the phase-matching bandwidth of the nonlinear process can be extended.     

Optical nonlinearity enhancement for an anisotropic semiconductor–insulator composite

We investigate the effect of geometric anisotropy on the optical nonlinearity enhancement for a periodic composite with a rectangular array of elliptic semiconducting cylinders in an insulating host. By using a series expression of the space-dependent electric field obtained by a simple Fourier method in a periodic composite, we calculate the frequency dependence of the effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility as a function of anisotropy. The results show that the height of the nonlinearity enhancement peak may be increased by several orders of magnitude as the aspect ratio of the ellises is decreased or the lattice edge length ratio is increased. At resonance frequency, there exists a strong anomalous dispersion. We also investigate the effect of the volume fraction of the semiconductor phase for composites with a square array of circular semiconducting cylinders. Received: 23 November 2000 / Accepted: 2 August 2001 / Published online: 17 October 2001     

Optical limiting behavior of Sudan III dye doped polymer

The optical limiting performance of Sudan III dye doped into ethylene propylene diene polymethylene polymer (EPDM) is investigated using 532 nm, 10 ns pulses from a frequency-doubled Nd-YAG laser. The optical limiting behavior is investigated by transmission measurement through the sample at different concentrations. Our results show that the optical limiting efficiency is concentration dependent.     

Optical properties of dye-doped zirconia films by spectroscopic ellipsometry

The optical properties of zirconia films doped with rhodamine 6G and oxazine 725 by the sol-gel process were investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Accurate refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k were determined using a three-oscillator classical Lorentz model in the wavelength range of 300-800 nm. The derived refractive index of dye-doped films exhibited anomalous dispersion in the absorption region. Wavelength tunable output lasing action yellow and near-infrared wavelength region was achieved by DFB configuration using zirconia films doped with R6G and oxazine 725.     

Electro-optical properties of a PDLC based on unsaturated polyester resin

An electro-optical characterisation of a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) based on unsaturated polyester (UP) resin, recently prepared in our laboratory, is presented. Transmittance and response times as a function of an electric field applied to the sample, have been measured taking into account also the morphological aspects of various samples. The experimental results confirm the theoretical data previously calculated on the base of the dimensions of the liquid-crystal droplets inside the polymeric matrix. Our analysis on this new material suggests the possibility of employing such a PDLC to realise electro-optical devices. Received: 9 October 1998 / Revised version: 12 May 1999 / Published online: 21 January 2000     

Luminescence of color centers formed in alkali-earth-doped yttrium orthoaluminate crystals

Alkali-earth-doped yttrium orthoaluminate crystals grown in a reducing atmosphere are found to show bright photoluminescence (PL) in visible wavelength regions under the excitation by UV light source. From the results of transmission, PL, PL excitation and time-resolved PL spectra for the samples with different types and concentrations of dopants and the comparison to the results for the samples grown under different conditions, the origin of principal emission is determined to be color centers stabilized by heterovalent ions. The observed fast lifetime and high quantum yield of the luminescence can be explained by dipole-allowed transition between the levels localized in a vacancy. Comparing the effects on the optical properties from several types of dopant ions and taking influence from the UV irradiation into account, a model for the structure of emission centers is proposed.     

Extrinsic photonic band structure calculations of a doped semiconductor under an external magnetic field

Doped semiconductors are intrinsically homogeneous media. However, by applying an external magnetic field that has a spatially periodic variation, doped semiconductors can behave extrinsically like conventional photonic crystals. It has shown this possibility theoretically by calculating the dispersion relation, transmittance spectra, and the field distribution of a doped semiconductor under an external, spatially periodic magnetic field. The energy distribution for frequencies located in conduct band and value band are also clearly shown, which convinces the extrinsic photonic band structure characteristic.     

High Efficiency One-Way Transmission by One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals with Gratings on One Side

We propose a scheme of optical one-way transmission by using one-dimensional photonic crystals （PhCs） with diffraction gratings on one side. The one-way transmission is realized by making the PhC opaque to the zeroth diffraction order and transparent to another propagating （in air） diffraction order. For such a structure with 10-period PhC, 93% of the incident energy passes through when an electromagnetic wave impinges from one side, and the transmittance decreases to the order of 0.001% as the electromagnetic wave illuminates from the other side.     

Photonic band gap properties of GaP opals with a new topology

In this paper, we propose that the “anomalous” optical response exhibited by GaP and InP infiltrated opals is due to the peculiar morphology shown by these materials when grown within the pores. In order to account for their optical response, we propose a new structural model consisting of a network of high dielectric spheres located in the pores of the bare opal, interconnected by cylinders of the same material. A fair agreement between the theoretical predictions using this model and the experimental measurements has been found. We also show that the inverse structure presents very interesting optical properties.     

Dispersion properties of hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers based on a square lattice cladding

In this paper the dispersion properties and confinement loss of hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers (PBGFs) based on a square lattice (SL) with rounded square air-holes was investigated for the first time, by using a full-vector finite element method (FEM). The waveguide group velocity dispersion (GVD) curves with different core diameter D, air hole size d, rounded diameter d_c and hole pitch Λ are presented. The influence of the number of cladding rings on dispersion and confinement loss were also calculated. It was found that as Λ or d increases, the width of PBG becomes wider, and that D and the number of cladding rings have a smaller influence on waveguide GVD. The ratio between bandgap width and central wavelength in our simulation is about 38.1%, which is larger than that of hollow-core PBGFs with triangular lattice (TL) (∼25%). By simulation, the desired zero dispersion wavelength or desired dispersion slope could be obtained by properly choosing the value of d_c or Λ. Compared to TL PBGF, at least nine cladding rings is needed to achieve the confinement loss less than 0.1 dB/m for future application.     

Formation of periodic structures by the space-selective precipitation of Ge nanoparticles in channel waveguides

Thermally stabilized channel waveguides with Bragg gratings were fabricated by the space-selective precipitation technique of crystalline Ge nanoparticles using KrF excimer laser irradiation. The periodic structures consisting of Ge nanoparticles were formed in Ge-B-SiO₂ thin glass films after exposure to an interference pattern of the laser followed by annealing at 600 °C. The channel waveguides with the periodic structures were fabricated by the cladding of the patterned Cr layers on the films. The diffraction peak for the TE-like mode of 11.8 dB depth was observed clearly at a wavelength of 1526.4 nm, indicating that the periodic structure also served as the optical band-pass filter in optical communication wavelength. The spectral shape, diffraction efficiency, and diffraction wavelength remained unchanged even after annealing at 400 °C. Furthermore, a low temperature dependence of the diffraction wavelength - as low as 8.1 pm/°C - was achieved. The diffraction efficiency was further enhanced after subsequent annealing at 600 °C. The space-selective precipitation technique is expected to be useful for the fabrication of highly reliable optical filters or durable sensing devices operating at high temperature.     

Characteristics of Photonic Bandgap Fibres with Hollow Core＇s Inner Surface Coated by a Layer Material

Hollow core＇s inner surface coating in a photonic bandgap fibre （PBCF） is investigated by means of finite element method. The coat material and thickness-dependence dispersion curve and group velocity dispersion are numerically studied. The coating with materials of low index or small thickness will rise up the dispersion curve but will not induce surface modes. However, coating with materials of high index or big coat thickness will induce surface modes and avoided-crossings. By varying coat material＇s refractive index and thickness, the appearances of surface modes and avoided-crossings can be changed. It is found that the avoided-crossing can enormously enlarge the negative dispersion which can find applications in dispersion compensation. We numerically achieve a negative dispersion as large as -21416.15ps/nm/km. The results give a physical insight into the propagation properties of PBGFs with the hollow core coated by a layer of material and are of crucial significance in the applications of PBGF coating.     

On the design of a Nd doped silica fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal mirror

We report operation of a Nd³⁺-doped fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal acting as a narrow band reflector. The aim of this work is to apply to a fiber-laser the particular optical properties of an helical structure, whatever is the medium exhibiting this structure, either a liquid crystal or either any other material. The advantage of the use of these mediums in the design of fiber-lasers is that they can favourably take the place, in an easy and compact way, of several optical elements such as a polarizer and a quarter-wave plate at one and the same time. This technology promises to design rugged compact low cost tunable coherent sources the lasing range of which can easily be adjusted. We emphasize here the particular part played by the cholesteric liquid crystal-glass interface in the laser action of the fiber. Received 21 October 1999 and Received in final form 7 February 2000     

Influence of post-annealing on the properties of Sc-doped ZnO transparent conductive films deposited by radio-frequency sputtering

Sc-doped ZnO transparent conductive films are deposited on glass substrates by radio-frequency sputtering. The influence of post-annealing on the structural, morphologic, electrical, and optical properties of the films is investigated by energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Hall measurement, and optical transmission spectroscopy. The experimental results show that these films are polycrystalline with a preferred [0 0 1] orientation. The lowest resistivity of 2.6 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm is obtained from the film annealed at 500 °C. The average optical transmittance of the films is over 90%. These results suggest that Sc-doped ZnO is a good candidate for fabricating high performance transparent conductive films.     

Spontaneous emission of a three-level lambda-type atom coupled to separate reservoirs

Considering the anisotropic dispersion model, the upper state population and spontaneous emission spectrum of three-level lambda-type atom with two transitions coupled to separate reservoirs are investigated using the resolvent operator. The upper state population reaches to a steady state value after a weak oscillation when the decay rate is zero and one transition frequency is inside the bandgap. The spectrum associated with each transition was given. Compared with results that were obtained by using isotropic dispersion model, the shape of spectrum changes significantly, and no dark line appears in the spectra.